Consumer confidence has fallen for the first time in a year, according to a new survey by market research company Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) released today.
The research shows that consumer confidence has fallen since March, with the confidence index falling two points to 78 in the last three months. This follows a slow but steady improvement over the previous four quarters.

Concerns over the economy have shot up, according to the report, with 39% of people citing this as their first or second biggest concern (up from 27% in March). The next biggest concerns were debt and job security.

More than half the respondents think their personal finances over the next year will be 'bad' or 'not so good', with 71% saying the same about their job prospects. The survey also revealed that 82% of people believe the country is still in recession.

In March, 44% thought the UK would not be out of recession within 12 months. That number has now risen to 52%. 19% of people believe that now is a 'bad' time to buy the things they want and need, up from 16% in Q1. A further 46% believe that it is a 'not so good' time to be spending.

BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: "Pre-election uncertainty has turned into post-election anxiety. Worries about the state of the economy and fears about the direct effect on individuals of austerity measures have halted the revival in customers' mood that had been underway since this time last year.

"British consumer confidence is below the global average, suggesting we're more unsure about future recovery than other countries. But, though confidence has fallen recently, it's well up on this time last year and retail sales have proved reasonably resilient. The impending VAT increase will encourage some customers to buy this side of January."

He added: "After that it's hard to predict the true impact of tax rises and spending cuts until they actually hit. For customers there's a big difference between anticipating pain and actually feeling it."